August 3, 2026

Orange Beach Sued After Lifeguard Runs Over Visitor With Pickup Truck

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. A vacationing Georgia couple have filed a $2 million lawsuit related to injuries that were sustained in 2024 after an Orange Beach lifeguard ran over the husband with a government pickup truck.

In the lawsuit, Mark and Christine Kelemen say they were relaxing on the beach when an Orange Beach lifeguard, later identified as Erik Nathaniel Mason, ran over Mark Kelemen with an F-150 pickup truck causing severe injuries.

According to the filing, the “Plaintiffs” were sitting on beach chairs, conversing with each other, when the city’s employee, Mason, got into his city-issued Ford F-150, and without checking his surroundings, turned the truck and ran over Mr. Kelemen as he was sitting on the beach next to his wife,” the filing states. “The front of the city’s vehicle hit Kelemen, and the front tire ran over the top of Kelemen’s hips, low back, abdomen, and arm, severely injuring him.”

Although the court documents mentioned that Mark Kelemen is seeking $1 million for his injuries that he claims Mason caused, $50,000 in special damages for medical expenses and $500,000 for future medical expenses arising from these injuries there is little documentation regarding the wreck itself or where and how Kelemen was treated.
He’s also seeking compensation for lost wages since and wants those damages to be decided by a jury.

The Kelemens claim proper policies and procedures for operating a vehicle on city beaches were not followed by Mason blaming his alleged neglect for Mark Kelemen’s injuries.

Christine Keleman is also seeking $500,000 “for her past, present and future consortium damages arising out of her husband’s physical injuries and permanent limitations” as well as her personal injuries from the incident.

Chubb National Insurance, the holder of policies on the Kelemens’ vehicles, is also a defendant in the complaint. The Kelemens claim since Mason was an underinsured driver, their primary carrier, Chubb, should cover them “against such perils as being injured and/or damaged by uninsured and underinsured motorists as well as other insurance coverages.”

The city of Orange Beach has seen several lawsuits in recent years including a federal lawsuit over bodycam footage on an alleged domestic violence incident reportedly involving Mayor Tony Kennon on Labor Day in 2024, which he denies. The school system faces a lawsuit filed stemming from when a former Blue Angels pilot was told his out-of-district kids could no longer attend city schools.

A court date for the Keleman’s case has not yet been scheduled.

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